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Catching up to the transportation revolution: Canada will have a national electric vehicle strategy by 2018

On May 26, Canada’s Minister of Transportation announced that Canada will develop a national electric vehicle strategy by 2018 in consultation with provincial and territorial governments, as promised in the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change agreement. A national Advisory Group has already been established to develop options in five areas: vehicle supply, cost and benefits of ownership, infrastructure readiness, public awareness, and clean growth and clean jobs. The Advisory Group includes representatives from governments, industry, consumer and non-government organizations and academia. In November 2016, the Minister had released a vision document, Transportation 2030: A Strategic Plan for the Future of Transportation in Canada, which included all modes of transportation – air, ships, trucks and trains, as well as a section on Green and Innovative Transport . According to the government press release on May 26 , transportation accounts for about 24 percent of Canada’s emissions, mostly from cars and trucks. The Pembina Institute states that there are only 21,000 electric cars on the road in Canada in 2017.

Relevant views of the future: Expect the Unexpected , a report from Carbon Tracker Initiative in February 2017, forecasts that electric vehicles will account for over two-thirds of the road transport market worldwide by 2050. “The Transportation Revolution is Closer Than You Think” , a May 22 blog from Climate Works Foundation summarizes several recent studies. And a new report, Three Revolutions in Urban Transportation envisions three scenarios up to 2050, and states: “ The world is on the cusp of three revolutions in transportation: vehicle electrification, automation, and widespread shared mobility (sharing of vehicle trips). Separately or together, these revolutions will fundamentally change urban transportation around the world over the next three decades.” …Our central finding is that while vehicle electrification and automation may produce potentially important benefits, without a corresponding shift toward shared mobility and greater use of transit and active transport, these two revolutions could significantly increase congestion and urban sprawl, while also increasing the likelihood of missing climate change targets. In contrast, by encouraging a large increase in trip sharing, transit use, and active transport through policies that support compact, mixed use development, cities worldwide could save an estimated $5 trillion annually by 2050 while improving livability and increasing the likelihood of meeting climate change targets.” Three Revolutions was published by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy and Sustainable Transportation Energy Pathways at UC Davis.